Former Venezuelan judge to speak alongside Justice Kennedy at judicial independence forum

LOS ANGELES - In the twilight of Venezuelan democracy, when judges were expected to rule not from the bench but from political orders whispered down by the ruling elite, one federal judge made a decision that would cost him everything.

In 2014, Eleazar J. Saldivia was sitting on the bench in the state of Anzoátegui when massive student-led protests - known as La Salida - erupted across the nation. The demonstrations were a flashpoint: thousands of Venezuelans, many of them young, demanding democratic reforms, transparency, and an end to the Nicolás Maduro regime's iron-fisted rule. The response was brutal.

"They were arresting students," Saldivia said in an interview with the Daily Journal. "Not just arresting them - torturing them, killing them in the streets. These were children. And it was happening under the direction of state police and the National Guard."

When the first wave of detainees came before his court, Saldivia reviewed the evidence - or lack thereof - and found clear constitutional violations. Young protesters were being held without cause, denied due process, and abused in detention. He ordered several of them to be released.

Those decisions, along with sentencing four policemen to jail for assault, enraged the regime. In particular, Saldivia ran afoul of Aristóbulo Istúriz, then-governor of Anzoátegui and one of the most influential figures in Maduro's circle. Istúriz - who would go on to become vice president - was closely linked to the violent crackdowns. Also enraged was Nelson Moreno, speaker of the state's legislative assembly, who would later become mayor of Puerto La Cruz. Both men, Saldivia said, treated his courtroom rulings as personal betrayals.

"They called me. Personally. Istúriz told me I had to revoke my orders, or I would suffer the consequences," Saldivia recalled. "He said I was under his command, that he was my boss. I told him, no - my only boss is the constitution."

That act of defiance forced him into exile.

Now living in Los Angeles, Saldivia continues to speak out. Next Thursday, he'll join a national virtual event, Speak Up for Justice, alongside judges, scholars, and attorneys advocating for judicial independence amid growing global threats.

The keynote speaker is retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. It will be moderated by Los Angeles trial attorney Paul R. Kiesel of Kiesel Law LLP.

"What's so relevant about the upcoming program is that we are going to have speakers from all around the world, who are going to address that when the rule of law is ignored in any nation, democracies crumble," Kiesel said in a phone conversation.

In April, Kiesel hosted a similar event that drew 8,000 viewers, featuring U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who spoke about the murder of her son by an aggrieved litigant and the ongoing threats she and other judges face. That program lasted 30 minutes; next Thursday's event will run for an hour.

Joining the panel are Justice Richard J. Goldstone, who served on South Africa's Constitutional Court during its democratic transition and later led international war crimes tribunals; Judge Dorota Zabludowska of Poland's Gdańsk-Południe District Court, who will address current rollbacks in the rule of law; and Karen C. Burgess, past president of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Despite the diversity of geography and background, the message is unified: judicial independence must be protected - everywhere.

"We may be at a tipping point in this country, and that's why the title of the program is 'A warning to America,' by example of what happened in these other countries," Kiesel added.

The event's organizers emphasize that this is not a partisan moment. Rather, it's a constitutional moment, a time to reassert the principle that justice must be blind to politics and public pressure. Decisions must be grounded in law, not in popularity.

For Saldivia, who has a master's degree from UC Berkeley School of Law, the warnings are still urgent - not only for Venezuela, but for any nation where judges become political targets, and courtrooms become ideological battlegrounds.

"[Hugo] Chávez didn't begin with violence - he used the law," he said of the former Lt. Colonel who staged a coup in 1992, was elected president six years later and remained in power until his death in 2013. "He asked the Supreme Court for special powers, expanded the number of justices from 20 to 32, and filled it with loyalists. After that, every ruling served the regime."

His message for Thursday's audience is direct.

"The rule of law is not just about enforcing laws - it's about defending the constitution," he reinforced. "Judges must protect those principles even when it's politically inconvenient. Once you lose judicial independence, once the courts fall, everything else falls with it."

The forum begins at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific) and is open to the public at speakupforjustice.law.